Dec 10 (Reuters) - Major food companies, including Kraft

Heinz ( KHC ), Mondelez ( MDLZ ) and Coca-Cola, were hit

with a new lawsuit in the U.S. on Tuesday accusing them of

designing and marketing "ultra-processed" foods to be addictive

to children, causing chronic disease.

The lawsuit was filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common

Pleas by Bryce Martinez, a Pennsylvania resident who alleges he

developed type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,

diagnosed at age 16, as a result of consuming the companies'

products.

His lawyers at the firm Morgan & Morgan, a major U.S.

plaintiffs' firm, described the case as the first of its kind.

The other companies being sued are Post Holdings ( POST ),

PepsiCo ( PEP ), General Mills ( GIS ), Nestle's U.S.

arm, WK Kellogg, Mars, Kellanova ( K ) and Conagra

.

"There is currently no agreed upon scientific definition of

ultra-processed foods," Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of

product policy for the Consumer Brands Association, an industry

group representing food and beverage makers, said in a

statement.

"Attempting to classify foods as unhealthy simply because

they are processed, or demonizing food by ignoring its full

nutrient content, misleads consumers and exacerbates health

disparities."

Evidence has grown in recent years that highly processed

foods are linked to a wide range of chronic health problems.

Food described by researchers as "ultra-processed" includes many

packaged snack foods, sweets and soft drinks made with

substances extracted from whole foods or synthesized

artificially.

Current U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner

Robert Califf has said that ultra-processed foods are likely

addictive. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's

pick to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

has criticized the food industry and the FDA for failing to

regulate it.

Martinez's lawsuit alleges that the food companies have long

known their products are harmful and deliberately engineered

them to be as addictive as possible. It argues that they are

drawing from the same "cigarette playbook" as tobacco giants

Philip Morris ( PM ) and R.J. Reynolds, which for a time owned the

companies that became Kraft Heinz ( KHC ) and Mondelez ( MDLZ ).

The lawsuit includes claims for conspiracy, negligence,

fraudulent misrepresentation and unfair business practices. It

seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive

damages.